Filing Details

 

 

Item 1.

Security and Issuer.

This statement relates to the shares of Common stock, $0.01 par value (the "Common Stock"), of The Advisory Board Company (the "Issuer"). The Issuer's principal executive office is located at 2445 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C., 20037.

Item 2.

Identity and Background.

ELLIOTT

The business address of Elliott is 40 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019.

The principal business of Elliott is to purchase, sell, trade and invest in securities.

SINGER

Singer's business address is 40 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019.

Singer's principal business is to serve as a general partner of Elliott and Capital Advisors, as the president of EICA, and as a managing member of Special GP.

CAPITAL ADVISORS

The business address of Capital Advisors is 40 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019.

The principal business of Capital Advisors is the furnishing of investment advisory services.  Capital Advisors also serves as a managing member of Special GP.

The names, business addresses, and present principal occupation or employment of the general partners of Capital Advisors are as follows:

The name, business address, and present principal occupation or employment of the sole director and executive officer of Braxton Associates, Inc. are as follows:

ELLIOTT SPECIAL GP, LLC

The business address of Special GP is 40 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019.

The principal business of Special GP is serving as a general partner of Elliott.

The names, business address, and present principal occupation or employment of the managing members of Special GP are as follows:

ELLIOTT INTERNATIONAL

The business address of Elliott International is c/o Maples & Calder, P.O. Box 309, Ugland House, South Church Street, George Town, Cayman Islands, British West Indies.

The principal business of Elliott International is to purchase, sell, trade and invest in securities.

The name, business address, and present principal occupation or employment of the general partner of Elliott International is as follows:

HAMBLEDON

The name, business address, and present principal occupation or employment of the sole director and executive officer of Hambledon are as follows:

EICA

The business address of EICA is 40 West 57th Street New York, New York 10019.

The principal business of EICA is to act as investment manager for Elliott International.

The name, business address, and present principal occupation or employment of the sole director and executive officer of EICA is as follows:

(d) and (e) During the last five years, none of the persons or entities listed above  has been (i) convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors); or (ii) a party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction and as a result of such proceeding was or is subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violation with respect to such laws.

Item 3.

Source and Amount of Funds or Other Consideration.

Item 4.

Purpose of Transaction.

The Reporting Persons believe that the securities of the Issuer are significantly undervalued and represent an attractive investment opportunity.  The Reporting Persons seek to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Issuer's Board of Directors regarding opportunities to maximize shareholder value.

Depending upon overall market conditions, other investment opportunities available to the Reporting Persons, and the availability of securities of the Issuer at prices that would make the purchase or sale of such securities desirable, the Reporting Persons may endeavor (i) to increase or decrease their respective positions in the Issuer through, among other things, the purchase or sale of securities of the Issuer on the open market or in private transactions, including through a trading plan created under Rule 10b5-1(c) or otherwise, on such terms and at such times as the Reporting Persons may deem advisable and/or (ii) to enter into transactions that increase or hedge their economic exposure to the Common Stock without affecting their beneficial ownership of shares of Common Stock.

No Reporting Person has any present plan or proposal which would relate to or result in any of the matters set forth in subparagraphs (a) - (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D except as set forth herein or such as would occur upon or in connection with completion of, or following, any of the actions discussed herein. The Reporting Persons may develop plans and/or make proposals with respect to, or with respect to potential changes in, the operations, management, the certificate of incorporation and bylaws, Board composition, ownership, capital or corporate structure, dividend policy, strategy and plans of the Issuer, potential strategic transactions involving the Issuer or certain of the Issuer's businesses or assets, including, without limitation, a sale of the Issuer or certain of its businesses or assets, in which the Reporting Persons may participate, as a means of enhancing shareholder value, or may change their intention with respect to any and all matters referred to in Item 4. The Reporting Persons intend to review their investment in the Issuer on a continuing basis and may from time to time in the future express their views to and/or meet with management, the Board, other shareholders or third parties, including, potential acquirers, service providers and financing sources, and/or formulate plans or proposals regarding the Issuer, its assets or its securities. Such proposals or plans may include one or more plans that relate to or would result in any of the actions set forth in subparagraphs (a) - (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D.

ITEM 5.

Interest in Securities of the Issuer.

The aggregate percentage of Common Stock reported owned by each person named herein is based upon 40,147,292 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of November 1, 2016, which is the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding as reported in the Issuer's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9, 2016.

As of the close of business on January 11, 2017, Elliott International beneficially owned 672,179 shares of Common Stock, constituting approximately 1.7% of the shares of Common Stock outstanding. EICA, as the investment manager of Elliott International may be deemed to beneficially own the 672,179 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by Elliott International, constituting approximately 1.7% of the shares of Common Stock outstanding.

Collectively, Elliott, Elliott International and EICA beneficially own 988,500 shares of Common Stock, constituting approximately 2.5% of the shares of Common Stock outstanding.

Collectively, Elliott, Elliott International and EICA have economic exposure comparable to approximately 5.8% of the shares of Common Stock outstanding pursuant to Derivative Agreements, as disclosed in Item 6.

Elliott International has the shared power with EICA to vote or direct the vote of, and to dispose or direct the disposition of, the shares of Common Stock owned directly by Elliott International. Information regarding each of Elliott International and EICA is set forth in Item 2 of this Schedule 13D and is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

No person other than Elliott International and EICA has the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of, the shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by Elliott International and EICA.

Item 6.

Contracts, Arrangements, Understandings or Relationships With Respect to Securities of the Issuer.

Elliott, through The Liverpool Limited Partnership, a Bermuda limited partnership and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elliott ("Liverpool"), and Elliott International have entered into notional principal amount derivative agreements (the "Derivative Agreements") in the form of cash settled swaps with respect to 749,578 and 1,592,849 shares of Common Stock of the Issuer, respectively (representing economic exposure comparable to approximately 1.9% and approximately 4.0% of the shares of Common Stock of the Issuer, respectively). Collectively, the Derivative Agreements held by the Reporting Persons represent economic exposure comparable to an interest in approximately 5.8% of the shares of Common Stock. The Derivative Agreements provide Elliott and Elliott International with economic results that are comparable to the economic results of ownership. The Derivative Agreements are not shares of Common Stock and do not provide the Reporting Persons with the power to vote or direct the voting or dispose of or direct the disposition of the shares that are referenced in the Derivative Agreements (such shares, the "Subject Shares"). The Reporting Persons disclaim beneficial ownership in the Subject Shares. The counterparties to the Derivative Agreements are unaffiliated third party financial institutions.

Except as described above in this Item 6, none of the Reporting Persons has any contracts, arrangements, understandings or relationships with respect to the securities of the Issuer.

Item 7.

Material to be Filed as Exhibits.

Exhibit 99.1 – Joint Filing Agreement.

Schedule 1 – Transactions of the Reporting Persons Effected During the Past 60 Days

SIGNATURES

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of its knowledge and belief, each of the undersigned certifies that the information with respect to it set forth in this statement is true, complete, and correct.

Dated:  January 12, 2017

EXHIBIT 99.1

JOINT FILING AGREEMENT

The undersigned hereby agree that the statement on Schedule 13D with respect to the Common stock, $0.01 par value, of The Advisory Board Company dated as of the date hereof is, and any further amendments thereto signed by each of the undersigned shall be, filed on behalf of each of the undersigned pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of Rule 13d-1(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Dated:  January 12, 2017

SCHEDULE 1

Transactions of the Reporting Persons Effected During the Past 60 Days

The following transactions were effected by Elliott Associates, L.P. (through Liverpool) in the Common Stock during the past 60 days:

The following transactions were effected by Elliott International, L.P. in the Common Stock during the past 60 days:

Date	Security	Amount of Shs. Bought/(Sold)	Approx. price ($) per Share
01/06/17	Common Stock	672,179	--*
12/16/16	Common Stock	(85,000)	32.7151
12/15/16	Common Stock	(85,000)	32.4635
12/09/16	Common Stock	(34,000)	33.9338
12/07/16	Common Stock	(34,000)	32.8198
11/07/16	Common Stock	3,902	34.7791
11/04/16	Common Stock	30,098	35.9967

* Shares acquired upon exercise of physically settled swaps.